.32-20 (.30-20) Contender questions

I’ve been debating having SSK build a barrel in .30-20 for my Gen 1 T/C Contender frame. I’m thinking 18”, but might do 16.25”. I have some brass that I’ve been converting to .25-20, but enough to also play with a .32-20. The idea of a .25-20 is intriguing, but I have 2 rifles in .25-20 already and honestly don’t want to pay for the premium barrel in .25 or .32. My questions are:

1. Will the Lee .32-20 dies size the neck small enough for good bullet retention for the .30-20 chamber?
2. I like the 1-10” twist I think, are there reasons I should consider 1-8” or 1-7”. If I was going to shoot 200 grain bullets I think I’d go 300 aac blackout.
3. Has anyone tried the Barnes 120 or 125 in their’s for hunting?

The other option is a 6.5 TCU. I have dies for it, but I already have a Contender in 6.5-30 JDJ.

Thanks

Several years back I did a chamber for a customer using a 308 barrel and the chamber for a 32-20 and 30 M1 carbine. The cases are very close, one is rimmed and one is rimless. Customer said there is no problem shooting .312 lead bullet in the 308 barrel.

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Originally Posted by John Taylor

Several years back I did a chamber for a customer using a 308 barrel and the chamber for a 32-20 and 30 M1 carbine. The cases are very close, one is rimmed and one is rimless. Customer said there is no problem shooting .312 lead bullet in the 308 barrel.

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Concur. I was the customer. I use the .312 bullets in .32-20 brass and .309" in the thicker-walled .30 Carbine brass where chamber dimensions require it for release clearance.

Outpost,

Interesting idea…. Does the 30 carbine brass come out as rimless 32-20? I would think the brass has to fireform to the 32-20 chamber.

Is the extractor tuned for 30 carbine? Does the lack of a rim on the 32-20 present any problems?

TC barrels from TC are .308, so these help greatly.

Attachment 324161

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Originally Posted by garandsrus

Outpost,

Interesting idea…. Does the 30 carbine brass come out as rimless 32-20? I would think the brass has to fireform to the 32-20 chamber.

Is the extractor tuned for 30 carbine? Does the lack of a rim on the 32-20 present any problems?

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The .32-20 brass fire-forms to a rimmed .30 Carbine case which I can also use in my .30 Carbine Ruger. Its cylinder throats are honed to .312 so I can use either cast or jacketed bullets of that diameter. In the .30 Carbine brass which is thicker I load the .309" XTP 90-grain bullets or cast bullets sized to that diameter in either the Infamous Bunny Gun or the Ruger. Factory jacketed carbine ammo shoots acceptably in either within 100 yards. Either the Ruger revolver or the Bunny Gun are more accurate with factory loads than my 1944 Inland GI carbine was, which I then sold.

John cut a rim seat in the breech end of the barrel for the .32-20 to headspace. Ejects either. Chamber itself is standard .30 Carbine which John rethroated like a .30-'06 so that I could load Ball M1, M72 or M118 Match pulled bullets seated out and loaded subsonic with a case full of milsurp 4895.

The 30-20 TC is a great chambering for the Contender, I shot one for several years and mostly used the round nosed 110 grain carbine bullets. I highly recommend the Redding die set pictured above. If I were going to get a new barrel I would have Bullberry or MGM make it, none of my shooting buddies have been happy with the current SSK barrels.

Thanks for the replies guys. I saw those dies and debated if they were worth the extra $. I have 2 SSK barrels and have not been overshelmed by the accuracy. They use green mountain blanks I understand, and I have had good luck with green mountain barrels in muzzleloaders.

The dies definitely made a difference for me, I have two 10 inch and a 6.5 inch 32/20 barrels. I have shot 20,885 rounds out of them, mostly for silhouette.

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Originally Posted by dannyd

The dies definitely made a difference for me, I have two 10 inch and a 6.5 inch 32/20 barrels. I have shot 20,885 rounds out of them, mostly for silhouette.

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Would you share your favorite loads?

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Originally Posted by dannyd

TC barrels from TC are .308, so these help greatly.

Attachment 324161

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32H&R barrels from TC are from .308 to .309 also...so...IMO, yer gettin a 30-20 anyway!!

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Originally Posted by racepres

32H&R barrels from TC are from .308 to .309 also...so...IMO, yer gettin a 30-20 anyway!!

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True, I lost the 1991 or 1992 can't remember the year exactly, NRA Hunter's Pistol Florida State Match to a guy shooting a 32 H&R. (AAA class).

I have 32/20 dies, but the 30/20 dies come with a neck sizer (also FL) which is all you need shooting from a TC.

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Originally Posted by blackpowder man

Would you share your favorite loads?

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I will pm you with them.

Many years ago when IHMSA was popular and TC was making their “32-20” barrels I ran into Skeeter Skelton at the NRA meeting. I asked him what he thought of using one of these barrels to shoot steel. He said that as much he liked the 32-20, he felt that 32 H&R would be the way to go. Of course this was a decade or two before the release of the 327 FM. If I were going to do a “hot” 32 caliber TC and was building a custom barrel for it anyway, mine would be a 327 FM, especially with the paucity of 32-20 brass. JMHO and probably worth what you paid for it
Froggie

Ever think about a .300BO?

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Originally Posted by koger

Ever think about a .300BO?

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It was 300 whisper back in the day, but the 30/20 for a pistol TC is definitely better.

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Originally Posted by dannyd

It was 300 whisper back in the day, but the 30/20 for a pistol TC is definitely better.

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Or...Maybe the 30 Herrett??? I have no real use for one...But...they are interesting...and a Made for Handgun thing!!!
One of the least expensive Contender Barrels out there recently.

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Originally Posted by racepres

Or...Maybe the 30 Herrett??? I have no real use for one...But...they are interesting...and a Made for Handgun thing!!!
One of the least expensive Contender Barrels out there recently.

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One of my most accurate Contender barrels is a .30 Herrett !

Of all the Contender barrels I have (both carbine and 10"), the 32-20 is far and away my favorite. It is my "walking-around" barrel for the wide open spaces of the desert and once my "skiing-around" barrel when I was still able to cross country ski. The barrel is a 10" with iron sights. It is minute-of-coyote out to 150 yards if the suicidal coyote sits long enough for my old eyes to get a sight picture. After some terminal ballistics tests with my loads years ago, I determined it would be adequate for smaller deer (under 100# live) out to 50 yards although it would not be my first or second choice. My two favorite loads use the Lee 113 gr RF-GC boolit or 30 carbine JSP in front of either 6.5 gr of 2400 or 9.5 gr of 4198. Bullseye also works. The reason it is my "walking-around" barrel instead of one of my rifles is that a rifle is inconvenient when walking with two trekking poles while rock hounding, or taking pictures carrying a backpack full of tools. When T/C made those barrels, they made them with a .308 bore which makes the 32/20 a lot more flexible.